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Turning the Tide in Health Care Starts with Chronic Disease

According to a recent report from RAND Corporation, 60 percent of Americans have one chronic condition, another 42 percent have more than one. Perhaps most striking though is that Americans with five or more chronic conditions make up 12 percent of the U.S. population, but account for 41 percent of the total health care spending.

Failing to account for rising rates of chronic diseases can undermine the most well-intentioned health care reforms. Finding a path forward can start with the universal agreement that health care spending growth is unsustainable and examining ways to combat the leading driver of those costs: chronic diseases. Recent estimates from the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) show that, without change, overall health care costs will accumulate to more than $42 trillion by 2030. On the flip side, with attainable behavior changes and treatment advances, 169 million cases of chronic disease could be prevented, $6 trillion in costs could be avoided, and 16 million lives could be saved in that same timeframe.

Ten years ago, when the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) started, treating people with chronic conditions consumed 75 cents of every health care dollar. Today, that number stands at 90 cents. Over that time, PFCD partners have worked with hundreds of influential policymakers and regulators highlighting existing programs and policies working to prevent and better manage costly chronic conditions. Clearly, there is more work to be done and understanding the current chronic disease health trends and projections is foundational to successful reform efforts.

Please join PFCD and our partners in celebrating the accomplishments over the past decade, assessing the current landscape and putting forth next steps to continue addressing the root issues of our ailing health care system. The panel of speakers will discuss several dimensions of the health care puzzle including access to quality care, immediate opportunities for human and economic savings, and the increasing impact of multiple chronic conditions.